Unless you are in one of my classes, I make no promise that I will support you in the use of this machine image. You're nonetheless more than welcome to use the image, and if you find an issue, please feel free to get in touch.

Software: The image is based on Debian and includes lots of open-source computational software, with a slight focus on Python. Other open-source software can easily be installed using the package manager.

Usage

Check whether the image downloaded correctly using the md5sum command line tool (Linux/OS X). On Windows, use this tool. Compare the computed checksum with the value above. Only proceed once the two match. If they don't, delete the file and retry the download.

Open VirtualBox, click "File > Import Appliance", select the downloaded image and just click "Next" a few times.

Once imported, double-click on the virtual machine to start using it.

The virtual machine image automatically logs you in as a default user called owner. You can become root (with full control of the VM) by using sudo. To do so, you'll need owner's password, which is abc123.

If/when you would like to use the package manager ("Add/remove software" on the desktop) to install packages, make sure to click "Reload" beforehand to update the package lists. Otherwise, some packages may not download correctly or may not be found. Alternatively, you may use the command sudo apt-get update to update the package lists.

Prior versions

The above virtual machines have a focus on Python 3. If you prefer Python 2, this prior version of the VM might be what you're looking for: